At the end of March 2, 2010, the Reverend Johnny Lee Swainson had looked to be a man whose plans were coming together to a good portion of the United States and a not inconsiderable selection of notable folk outside the boundaries of Earth's richest and most powerful nation. Candidates backed by his Coalition for a Moral America had captured important nominations in the California primary election. Swainson seemed to have proved that the so-called Religious Right in the United States was not only resurgent after nearly two decades in the wilderness, but was going to be stronger than they had been since the 1980's, or perhaps even the 1920's.
By the end of March 3rd, he seemed forgotten in the media except for the occasional question: What did he think about the extraterrestrials coming to Earth?
By the morning of March 4, the question was: When is the Reverend Swainson going to say something about the extraterrestrials? Soon it would become: Why doesn't he say something? Precious hours were slipping by. He had said certainly said nothing in public by ten in the morning, Central Time.
"Does the Reverend drink like this a lot?" asked Alvin Yount over his usual late breakfast."
Valita Grant, after a little consideration, answered, "I'll be honest, Brother Alvin, I've always thought he drank a little too much, but I have never seen him this way."
Yount, houseguest and policy pawn of Swainson, ingested some more oatmeal and then asked, "Is it the men from space?"
"That's on his mind," said Valita, "But I think it's mostly worry about his daughter."
More oatmeal. "She doesn't live here."
"No."
More oatmeal. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why doesn't she live with her daddy?"
"I don't really know, Brother Alvin," Valita said. "She's his child, not mine. I don't really know her."
More oatmeal. "Oh."
While the Reverend had made no contingency plans for an alien visitation, he had made some for regaining control of his daughter.
In August 2009, John Lee Swainson had pulled his daughter Benicia out of his model Christian Academy outside Macon, Georgia and set her up with his aunt, Lucille Beringer, in a home near Orinda, California. He released his daughter from a confinement she hated with the proviso that she was to try to get close to some of the children of the friends of Makoto Urawa. In this she had succeeded, perhaps too well. He had a growing suspicion Benicia was changing her allegiance. Even if she was not, she was getting more unstable, and she had managed to get herself pregnant. She was about four months along by now, much too late to conceal it.
The night before, the Reverend had decided that he needed to take serious measures. He had called a shadowy "security" firm Paterson had selected. Then he had drunk himself into insensibility.
Two men in black showed up at Orinda High shortly after 10:00 am. They were not stopped by security for more than the two seconds it took to flash their badges. After a short stop in the school office, they proceeded to Room 216 where Pleione Umino, Johnny Brown, and a girl known as "Betty Beringer" were suffering their second semester of French.
They entered the room accompanied by a security guard and approached Ms. Verdon, the teacher. "Drug bust," someone whispered. These were not unknown at Orinda High. While it was as far from any ghetto or barrio as one might imagine, drugs were used by some of the students. The white student who made the remark assumed that one of the three African Americans or two Hispanics would be leaving with the men in black. In truth, the three drug abusers in second period French, including the pot dealer, were all white. Nevertheless, most of the others in the class thought the same thing, including the two obvious Hispanics and the three African Americans.
Pleione Umino watched with dread as the men in black proceeded down the aisle where Johnny Brown sat. She'd been in love with Johnny Broown for what seemed forever, or at least since she had met him on her first day of middle school. Johnny wasn't into drugs, but Pleione did know his mother had manipulated him into helping fix a football game near the end of the last semester.
But they walked past Johnny.
(more to come)